A solo exhibition by Nguyễn Thái Tuấn

Duration: 01.03.2022 — 23.04.2022
Location: 195/14 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, Ward 17, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

More information on the exhibition here

In 2008, Nguyen Thai Tuan had his first solo exhibition in which he shared his observations on the human condition through the series Black Paintings. Almost immediately, his paintings appeared in a variety of cultural forums, discussions on painting, and interdisciplinary socio-political commentaries.

[…] Ten years ago, Tuan collaborated with Sàn Art for the second time, and later went on to exhibit overseas with the series Heritage in which he “explored the role of the hero and the executioner in history”; the works continued to feature a series of unnamed characters set against a dreary backdrop, in old colonial chambers, and under a sky where “things fall apart.” **

 […]

Tuan’s works, in general, share the same atmosphere from the use of color, light, and spatial composition, to the presence of characteristic monuments and anonymous individuals. From a semiotic perspective, the image- actions repeat throughout Tuan’s works as a motif; they exist beyond spoken language, touching on many different senses of the viewer and from there, create meaning. The author sometimes plays the role of the narrator (in the Black Painting series) and in others, the one who draws the story by impressionist techniques and a bit of magical realism. Sometimes he employs metaphorical narratives with the use of black souls emerging from the past, entangled in the present, indifferent to the future.

/excerpt from the curatorial text by Vicky/

 *The title Waiting for the end of wind was inspired by a poem by Huy Tuong, The days when the wind ends

** Stefano Harney’s article for the exhibition When Things Fall Apart: Critical Voices on the Radars in Trapholtt, Denmark